Download Evangelism System EVANGELISM SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Evangelism System
EVANGELISM SYSTEM OVERVIEW
DEFINITION: The Northwood Evangelism System has two parts. The first is our strategy for
attracting people to our church. The second is to go into every man’s world and introduce them
to Jesus Christ.
PURPOSE: There are three primary purposes of the evangelism system.
1. To attract people to worship.
2. To increase evangelistic awareness at Northwood.
3. To define a consistent evangelism strategy.
FOUR KEY AREAS OF THE EVANGELISM SYSTEM
I. Pastors
II.
Personal Evangelism
III.
Promotion
IV. Preservation
I. PASTORS
One of the roles of the pastors at Northwood is to keep the evangelistic temperature of the
church high. The evangelistic temperature can be gauged by the following:
 First time commitments to Christ
 Baptisms
 People inviting friends
 First time guests
 Scheduled evangelistic outreaches
 Praying for the unchurched
There are three primary ways that the pastors can raise the evangelistic temperature of the
church.
A. The stage
B. The staff
C. The structure
A. THE STAGE
Strategic use of sermons, challenges, announcements and vision casting from the stage can
raise the evangelistic temperature. Some ways to do this include:



Telling evangelistic stories/sharing testimonies
Ask for commitments
Give immediate opportunities for action




Promote big days and outreach events
Challenge people to reach out to the lost
Teach a sermon series on evangelism
Utilize the preaching calendar
Example of using the preaching calendar to raise the evangelistic temperature:
(Note: unchurched people often come to church in February and September, a few weeks
after the pressure of things starting in January and August kicks in.)
Month or Day
Evangelistic Purpose
Result
January
Build excitement for February
People invite 3 friends
February
High attraction series
Break attendance record
Palm Sunday
Challenge people to invite 3-10 people for Easter
Easter
New Series: Challenge new people to stay for 4-6 weeks
August/September
Build excitement for new series
September/October
New series begins a few weeks after school starts
December
Promote Christmas services to the community
People Invite 3 friends
B. THE STAFF
Challenge the staff and other key leaders to be an example of evangelism by holding
them accountable to:





Serve in evangelistic outreaches
Pray for unsaved friends
Fast and pray for big days and outreach events
Invite friends to church
Intentionally build relationships with people not currently in a church
C. STRUCTURE
Intentionally create structure for evangelism by:







Planning regular evangelistic events (see the Servant Evangelism Saturday
System)
Sharing stories on Sunday morning
Consistently celebrating evangelism
Rewarding people who invite friends
Engaging connect groups in evangelism
Utilizing big events
Developing a promotion/marketing strategy

Allowing people to belong before they believe
II. PERSONAL EVANGELISM
A Recent Survey shows that 60% - 80% of first time guests in a growing church come because of
a personal invite!
One out of four friends say that they will attend church with a friend the first time they are
invited!
One of the primary responsibilities of the church is the equipping of its members to do the work
of ministry.
FIVE PERSONAL EVANGELISM PRINCIPLES
1. The principle of imitation: I’ll do it if I see you do it.
2. The principle of urgency: Easter is next week; a new series is starting, etc.
3. The principle of stress and release: This growth pattern works in all areas
of our church.
4. The principle of celebration: What is rewarded is repeated.
5. The principle of expectation: People are more comfortable inviting friends if
they know what to expect on Sunday.
ELEVEN EFFECTIVE INVITE TOOLS
1. Model the way
2. Lead church attendees to pray for the unchurched (Everyone should always
be praying for three friends.)
3. Have people write down the names of unchurched friends
4. Utilize invitation cards and promotional materials
5. Engage members in entry level outreach evangelism
6. Use big days or special events
7. Encourage friend invites to baby dedications, baptisms, testimonials
8. Train people to share their faith
9. Provide ‘air cover’ for personal invites through promotion
10. Utilize website and social media
11. Reward people who invite their friends (movie ticket giveaway, Starbucks
cards)
"The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. Pray to the Lord who is in charge of
the harvest, and ask him to send out more workers for his fields.” – Luke 10:2
III. PROMOTION
We want to sow seeds of invitation in the community through promotion.
“‘Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell
on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it.
Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plant sprang up quickly, but it soon
wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil.
Other seed fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades so that it produced
no grain.
Still other seed fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred
times as much as had been planted.’
Then he said, ‘Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!’" – Mark 4:4-9
FIVE KEYS TO EFFECTIVE PROMOTION
1. Pinpoint your best fields to sow in
 Who am I currently reaching?
 Who is like me?
 Where do people like me hang out?
 Who is not churched?
 Who is most open? (people under tension, in transition or in trouble)
2. Plant the maximum number of seeds possible. Some examples of seeds are:
 Direct mail
 Social media
 Newspaper/magazine
 Radio
 Billboards/signs
 Servant evangelism
 Invite cards
 Cinema ads
 Advertising specials (pens, key chains, etc.)
3. Expect a proportional return
“. . . some seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on
shallow soil with underlying rock. The plant sprang up quickly, but it soon wilted beneath
the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil. Other
seed fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades so that it
produced no grain.” – Mark 4:4 – 7
4. Wait and pray for the coming harvest
“. . . Still other seed fell on fertile soil” – Mark 4:8
5. Prepare and plan for the future
“…and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had
been planted." – Mark 4:8
PROMOTIONAL TIPS
1. Be consistent
2. Be clear
 People say no to what is unclear
 Tell people exactly what it is you want them to do
 The best seeds are a clear invitation to our church
3. Be creative
4. Be confined
 Don’t let your promotion get to cluttered
 Say what fits the media you are in and your target audience
5. Be confident
 Not self-confidence, but Spirit confidence
 Pray and believe for the harvest
 Don’t be afraid to invest time and resources
 Evangelism is an investment, not an expense
“Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply
your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” – 2 Corinthians
9:10
IV. PRESERVATION
We want to cultivate and celebrate evangelistic results by:
A. Helping people say “yes” to Jesus Christ
B. Preparing for people to say “yes” to Jesus Christ
C. Celebrate people saying “yes” to Jesus Christ
A. HELPING PEOPLE SAY “YES” TO JESUS CHRIST
Invite people to say “yes” to Jesus Christ
 Through the Sunday service
 Through Connect Groups
 Through personal conversations
B. PREPARING FOR PEOPLE SAY “YES” TO JESUS CHRIST
 Track who makes a commitment
 Follow-up with them
o In the first few minutes
o After the first day
o In the first week
o In the first month
 Schedule baptisms as soon as possible
C. CELEBRATE PEOPLE SAYING “YES” TO JESUS CHRIST
“Celebrate with me! I found my lost [coin, sheep, son]” – Luke 15:6, 9, 32
Share the celebration with others
 Share statistics
 Share stories
 Share credit